


Mac and Dennis: Matchmakers

by skywalkerlesbian



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: F/F, M/M, Post-Season/Series 12
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 23:08:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12286167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skywalkerlesbian/pseuds/skywalkerlesbian
Summary: Dennis has returned from North Dakota with an idea in mind, but an unexpected problem between Mrs. Mac and Mrs. Kelly might ruin his plans.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank @woollen_pharaohs for being my beta for this fic!
> 
> Chapter 2 will be up soon.

"Still can't believe you’re back, dude."  
  


"Well, I am, so move your ass here and help me lay down this mattress."  
  


Mac's hands leave his sides as a smile tugs at the corners of his lips. He has missed Dennis for the last three months, and this still feels a bit surreal. While they prepare Dennis' bed, Mac remembers the last time they had been together in the apartment. The memory brings a painful feeling to his stomach, but he dismisses it quickly. He is over this now. He is.  
  


After they are done with the bed, the room no longer looks like Mac’s ‘gym’ anymore.  
  


"Hey, Mac?" Dennis starts saying, "Do you... have anything to do this evening?"  
  


Mac jolts in surprise. "No, I don't, actually. What are you thinking?"  
  


"I was thinking we could go to Guigino's to catch up? And you can tell me everything that's been going on here in my absence."  
  


Mac is much more delighted with this offer than he’d like to admit. They have not had a proper talk since Dennis got back from North Dakota, and Mac can’t wait to hear everything that he has to tell him. It might also mean they could go back to their monthly dinner dates like normal.  
  


He is about to enthusiastically say yes to the proposal when his phone rings. He looks at the number and answers. "Hey, Charlie, what's up?"  
  


Dennis rolls his eyes so hard that he thinks for a second that they might have made it to the other side of his skull. Good timing, Charlie!  
  


"Shit, dude, are you serious right now?" Mac runs to the window almost bumping into Dennis, who has to dodge him. "Fuck. Yeah, I'm seeing you from here, I'll be there in a sec."  
  


"Care to tell me what's going on?" Dennis asks, a hand landing on his hip.  
  


Shit, Mac had forgotten about him for a second. He stops on his way to the door. "Charlie's mom kicked my mom out of the house because they had a big fight or something. He brought them here to find a solution with me, but they won't come up". As soon as he finishes speaking, he bolts to the staircase.  
  


Dennis almost can’t believe that this shit is happening just on the day of his return. He follows Mac through the door and reconsiders for a moment if coming back was actually a good idea after all. When they make it outside, they find Charlie extending his arms as much as he can to act as a barrier between the two women, who are screaming loudly at each other.  
  


"You are a horrible, horrible human being and I want nothing to do with you anymore!" cries Mrs. Kelly, wiping her tears with her hand and smudging her makeup in the process.  
  


"I still don't know what the fuck this is all about, you crazy bitch!" replies Mrs. Mac, a cigarette stubbornly refusing to fall from her mouth.  
  


"Liar! You know what this is about!! You think I don’t know? It's about _her_ !! You were having sex with _that woman_ on _my bed!!"_  
  


At this, Mrs. Mac stomps the cigarette on the ground, Bonnie starts crying, and Charlie's eyebrows go further than he thought they could go.  
  


"Wow, Mom, what?" Mac asks, his jaw hanging open.  
  


Charlie looks at him and Dennis as they approach him, and then back to Mac’s mom. "Yeah, I mean, have a little respect for my mom, don’t call her-"  
  


"You're _GAY?"_ Mac interrupts excitedly, running to his mom and attempting to hug her. She squirms under his touch, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm gay too! Wow, I feel like we are truly bonding right now! Like, being part of the same community and all!"  
  


She scoffs and gets away from his hands, but Mac doesn't stop smiling.  
  


Dennis is very surprised by the fact that Mac had not noticed until now that his mother is a big, big lesbian. A part of him feels relief from the official confirmation, though, since the woman had once rejected his sexual advances. It finally makes sense.  
  


The women’s aggressive confrontation continues until Charlie starts screaming. Then, everyone stops what they were doing to look at him.  
  


"First of all, don't you EVER call my mom bitch again or I'll-", Charlie stops himself when Mac gives him one of _those_ looks and he takes a deep breath before going on. "Let's... let’s just go to the apartment and talk about this there, okay? C'mon, go!"  
  


Charlie and Mac direct their moms to the building. Dennis follows them, muttering to himself “But she _was_ a prostitute, so...”

 

* * *

 

“Okay, so, let me get this straight,” Mac begins. Across the table, his mother coughs and shakes her head. “You have been having sex with this Sally woman on Mrs. Kelly’s bed… for what reason?”  
  


His mom shrugs and grunts in response.  
  


Dennis shakes his head. “I don’t think we’re getting anywhere.”  
  


“Listen, I don’t want her in the house anymore,” says Mrs. Kelly. “Not if she keeps doing this! My favorite blankets had white stains on them and I had to throw them away!”  
  


“I don’t wanna hear that! No! Mom, we don’t need the fucking details!” Charlie says, his mind already trying to dismiss the mental image of the stains.  
  


Mrs. Mac starts lighting another cigarette. “It’s just milk, shut up.”  
  


Mac and Dennis share a significant look at the mention of the beverage. Dennis raises his hand to interrupt the conversation between the two moms, which is getting heated again.  
  


“Hold on, Mrs. Kelly, does this woman have a unibrow?” Dennis questions.  
  


Both Mac and Dennis look at her expectantly.  
  


“Well, yes… Why, do you know her too?” Mrs. Kelly asks.  
  


Mac stands up and angrily puts his hands on the table. “That’s it. Mom, you’re leaving this woman immediately. NOW!” Mac gets progressively angry while speaking, and by his last word Dennis has to get up and calm him down by putting his hands on his shoulders.  
  


Dennis whispers “Hey, look at me, it’s okay.”  
  


Mac concedes, finally seeming to be in control of his anger and sits down again.  
  


“I don’t give a shit about any of you, I’m not dumping her,” Mrs. Mac starts to say in a monotone voice. She looks at Mrs. Kelly. “And you can’t throw me out of my own house!”  
  


“Oh, is that right?” Mrs. Kelly says, a grin on her face. She grabs something from her pocket and holds it in front of Mrs. Mac. “Do you know what this is? Yes, it’s a key! I changed the key to _my_ house! And I won’t give you a copy until you promise to stop bringing that woman into my home!”  
  


Mac has to stop his mom from grabbing the key from Mrs. Kelly’s hands. “Wait, Mom, wait! Why don’t you stay here for a while? Until you two reach an agreement.”  
  


Dennis raises his eyebrows. “Or maybe not,” he adds, looking at his flatmate in the eye.  
  


Mac furrows his brow at him and then looks back to his mother, a smile on his lips from the possibility of spending some time with her again. She grunts in response, prompting an even bigger smile from her son. “That means yes! She’s staying here!”  
  


“Oh, is she?” laughs Dennis, a forced smile on his face.  
  


When Charlie and his mom finally leave, Mac doesn’t wait a second to help his mom settle down in his bed. “It’s okay, I’ll just go sleep on the couch myself!” he tells her, as if she had said it wasn’t necessary. She is already snoring in his bed when Mac closes the door to his bedroom and heads for the entrance of the apartment.  
  


“Wow, dude, what are you doing?” Dennis asks, visibly irritated.  
  


“I’m going to buy a mattress to sleep on while my mom’s here” Mac answers, pushing the front door open.  
  


Dennis raises his eyebrows in disbelief. “Okay, first of all, you’re making it sound like she’s going to stay here for a long time, and you can’t possibly know that. And second, have you forgotten about our plans at Guigino’s?”  
  


“Shit, dude, sorry. I forgot,” Mac replies. He looks between Dennis and the door to his room, struggling to decide what to do. He ruffles his hair with one hand in frustration. “Can we do that tomorrow?” he says, finally. “I just… really have to go buy this right now. I’m sorry Dennis, I swear I meant to say yes before my phone rang.”  
  


This wasn’t how Dennis had planned this day to go. Not at all.  
  


“Yeah”, he says, defeated. “Tomorrow. Okay, Mac.”  
  


He hears the door closing but doesn’t see it. His mind involuntarily wanders back to another place, a few days ago. In spite of the snores coming from Mac’s room, his memories are vivid.

 

* * *

 

_Dennis wakes up, sweating. He is in his rented shithole in North Dakota, where his own thoughts are his only company. Suddenly, he hears someone knocking on his door. He looks at his alarm clock and it’s 2 AM. Who can it be at this time of the night? Dennis approaches the door and opens it, oblivious to any danger that can possibly be on the other side. In front of him is Mac, who he hasn’t seen in months. His breath catches in surprise._  
  


_“Mac? What are you doing here?” he asks, swallowing hard._  
  


_The other man simply smiles fondly at him, his eyes sparkling in the badly illuminated corridor. Just when Dennis was going to repeat the question, he notices Mac’s eyes wandering to his lips. Dennis loses track of what he was going to say, and Mac’s head begins to move towards his. Before he has had time to react, their lips are touching, and his eyes close._  
  


_When he opens his eyes, Dennis is alone, on his bed, and it’s morning already. He touches his lips with his fingertips briefly, before realizing what he’s doing and pulls his hand off. But the ghost of Mac’s lips is still there, and the memory won’t stop replaying in his head. What did that dream even mean? He didn’t want to think about it, but he would feel a new weight on his back from that moment onwards which could not be shaken even when he tries to neglect the existence of that memory._  
  


_Two days afterwards, when Dennis realizes he has to do something about what has happened to him fearing that the feeling will not go away, he books a flight to Philadelphia. He calls Mandy and tells her he’ll be gone for a while – he doesn’t know how long he will stay in Philly. He doesn't even know what he's gonna do when he's there. The only thing he knows is that he_ has _to go back._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been... almost a year. Sorry! I was finally in the mood to finish this second chapter, since we have new episodes again. I hope you like it!

 “Dude, I had a great idea to help my mom. Seriously, you’re going to love it.”

 

Dennis isn’t paying much attention to Mac, focused as he is on opening the door to their apartment. He is already quite bitter about Mrs. Mac intruding in their household for the second time, although they have been at the bar for most of the day and he hasn’t seen her for a while. In spite of barely being listened to, Mac continues.

 

“I think we should set her up on a date with someone else. Like, a lady that isn’t a McPoyle, you know. Maybe then she could go back to her house.”

 

Dennis raises his head when he hears the last words. Go back to her house, huh? That’s something he can be into.

 

“That is an _excellent_ idea, Mac! Let’s help your mother find true love and get her out of our house!” Dennis says, enthusiastically.

 

The answer seems to excite Mac, who has finally been given the attention he was asking for. He starts explaining his plan to Dennis, and it’s fairly simple: they would have to find women for his mother through an app or some similar service, and then they would check on her dates just to see how they were going and offer any help if necessary. Of course, who better than Dennis to find a woman for her? She has only been able to seduce a _McPoyle_ , so she is clearly in need of someone’s expertise in women.

 

“So, when are we starting?” Dennis asks.

 

“Oh, yeah, good question. What about… right now?” Mac replies, pointing to the floor with his finger.

 

“Wha- Right now?!” Dennis screams, loudly. Mac retreats. “Mac, we’re going to Guigino’s tonight, remember?”

 

Mac opens his mouth to reply, but Dennis doesn’t wanna hear. “DON’T tell me that you forgot — _again_!”

 

“No, I… didn’t,” Mac begins to say, softly this time. Dennis thinks he has managed to intimidate Mac, but that isn’t the case. He is just processing an idea that just appeared in his head. “We are going to Guigino’s… and Mom is coming too!”

 

As Mac runs into his room and starts screaming to wake up his mother, Dennis covers his nose and mouth with his hands in despair. _Can’t we have ONE moment of privacy without this old bitch intruding into our life?!_

 

“Dennis, go get dressed!” he hears Mac shout from his room. “I’m dressing up my mom for a _date_ at Guigino’s! Aren’t you excited, Mom?” Dennis thinks the grunt he hears is apathetic, but he can’t be sure. Mac replies “sure you are!”, and Dennis admits to himself that he will never be able to discern the different types of grunts Mrs. Mac uses.

 

“I only ordered a table for two, Mac!” Dennis shouts back.

 

“It doesn’t matter, we’ll figure it out!”

 

Dennis sighs and heads to his room. He will have to get rid of Mac’s mom somehow. She’s not gonna ruin another day for him. Not when he’s _paying_ for the dinner, for fuck’s sake.

 

* * *

 

“Yes, Sir, I’m completely sure Ellen DeGeneres is not on one of our tables tonight.”

 

“Okay, but can you go over Rosie O’Donnell again? Maybe you have her name down and she isn’t here yet.”

 

The receptionist at Guigino’s forces a smile as she looks over the list of reservations again. While the two men in front of her engage in conversation, she curiously eyes the old woman next to them. She has what looks like bed hair, and won’t stop coughing from time to time. The contrast between her hostile expression and her clothes is unsettling; she is wearing a pink and uncomfortably tight sweater with a smiley cat on her chest. The cat’s face is deformed, his originally happy expression turned into a creepy one because of the small size the woman is wearing. The old woman seems to have noticed the receptionist staring at her, because she asks her “What?” in a raspy voice that almost makes the younger woman drop the paper to the floor.

 

“...and why did you have to dress her up on one of Maureen’s old sweaters? It doesn’t even fit her!”

 

“I’m sorry, Dennis, but I don’t have any women’s clothing myself, and I had to work with what I could. She needs to be an attractive woman for her date.”

 

“Yeah, what date? I’m running out of lesbians to ask for, and we still haven’t thought of a different plan. I can’t do this for much longer.”

 

“Um, excuse me?”

 

Mac and Dennis stop speaking and turn to the receptionist, who has that forced smile back to her face.

 

“I… don’t think Mrs. O’Donnell is here tonight either, and I’m afraid the customers behind you are getting tired of waiting,” she says, scared enough not to sound too pushy. “Why don’t you just go to your table? I’m sure she can wait until there’s a free seat for her.”

 

“Oh, my God!” screams Mac, suddenly. Dennis looks at him, confused. “Is that Oprah?!” Mac adds, pointing behind the receptionist.

 

Just as the young woman turns her head to check behind her, just in case, Mac sprints towards the tables screaming, “Run, Mom, run! Don’t look back!” But she doesn’t run. In fact, when Mac notices she isn’t following him, he has to go back and drag her by the arm.

 

Dennis follows him promptly. The receptionist looks at their backs and then back to the angry queue of customers they had left behind. After some seconds of doubt, she curses to herself and addresses the next customer. _Someone else will have to deal with this_ , she thinks. _I’ve already had enough for the night._

 

Dennis finds their regular table for two shortly after Mac has arrived with his mom.

 

“Dude, you really saved our asses back there,” says Dennis, briefly patting Mac’s shoulder.

 

“The good ol’ Oprah trick, always works!” Mac replies, a huge smile on his face.

 

Mrs. Mac grunts, half-forgotten by her son. “I gotta take a dump”, she says, and begins looking around her for a bathroom.

 

“Oh, no, Mom, we don’t have time for you to go to the bathroom,” Mac replies, his hands on his mother’s shoulders stopping her from leaving his side. “I’m going to look for a date for you, come with me!”

 

Mac and his mom disappear around a corner. Meanwhile, Dennis takes a look at the menu. He already knows that he’s ordering the same thing he always orders for him and Mac, but he’s trying to pass the time. He also knows he should be thinking instead about what he wants to say to Mac, but he’s starting to feel ridiculous about the whole thing, considering Mac is more interested in his scheme than eating out of Dennis’ hand like he always used to. Mac _should_ be beaming with excitement for this date Dennis has graciously arranged, and then Dennis would sit back and let Mac be the one to physically demonstrate his feelings before Dennis has to even bother with doing it himself. He knew Mac was oblivious about what the reality around him most of the time, but he thought the situation should have been obvious by now. Apparently, by the way Mac’s acting, it isn’t. Dennis is at a loss as to what his next step should be.

 

After a thorough search for possible dates through the restaurant, Mac finally finds a woman sitting on a table alone. This is the opportunity he was waiting for.

 

“Good evening, lady!” he says to the unknown woman, while pushing his mother down onto the free seat in front of her. “I’m sorry for the delay, but here’s your date for the night.”

 

“Excuse me?” the woman replies with a dry voice, visibly confused. “I was expecting to meet my daughter tonight. Who is this woman?”

 

The two women stare at each other for a moment. The confused lady seems to be a few years younger than Mrs. Mac. Her hair has been dyed blonde but her roots are already black. She stinks of tobacco, and her eyes look glossy.

 

“Well…” Mac starts to say slowly, thinking. “You know, your daughter wanted you to find love again! Isn’t that nice of her?”

 

“To find love? _With a woman?_ ” she asks, disbelieving. She starts to laugh suddenly at the thought of it, but her laughter is stopped with a cough.

 

“Are you homophobic?” Mac asks with a serious face. The woman looks visibly confused at this question.

 

“What? No! But that doesn’t mean that I-”

 

Mrs. Mac, tired of the conversation that is taking place, takes a piece of bread and starts to eat it. “Did you order already or what?” she asks the other woman.

 

“Okay! I see you two lovebirds are already starting to know each other! I’ll be leaving now, I don’t want to interfere with the magic of love!” says Mac before running again back to his table. The woman calls to him in vain, and when she sees him finally disappear she turns back to Mrs. Mac, who is still chewing on the bread. With a sigh, she puts a hand on her brow.

 

Shortly after Mac sits down again on his table, their food arrives. He looks at his salad and then back at Dennis. “Dennis, why did you order this for me? You know I hate salad,” he says, not really angry but slightly irritated.

 

“So what? It’s good for you, and you don’t want to ruin your good looks again, do you?” Dennis says. “You used to look really sexy and, frankly, I’m disappointed with what I’m seeing here.”

 

Mac can’t be indifferent to that comment, more so coming from Dennis. But he tries not to look upset. “Oh, you… You really think so? I mean, I think I look hot already, but maybe I should go on a diet again. Or do a few extra crunches...” The contempt of his voice gives him away, and Dennis has to repress a laugh. Mac really hasn’t changed that much since he left.

 

“You know, Mac,” Dennis begins to say. He still hasn’t planned how this will go, but _fuck it,_ he thinks. He is going to do this and it’s going to be easy, because it’s _Mac_ he’s dealing with. _C’mon_. “I think you should know the reason I came back from North Dakota is…”

 

“Fuck!” Mac shouts, interrupting Dennis. He stands up quickly and attempts to leave the table, but Dennis stops him holding his wrist.

 

“Where are you going now? I was talking to you!” he says angrily, a vein popping up in his forehead.

 

“That chick over there is going directly to my mom’s table, and I think she might be her date’s daughter! She can’t ruin this for my mom,” Mac replies, his eyes wandering fast between the woman and Dennis.

 

_Maybe_ , Dennis thinks, _if I deal with this situation myself we will finally have the rest of the dinner in peace and I can tell him what I want to say._

 

“I’ve got this, Mac,” he says, standing up from the chair and gesturing him to sit down. “You know I’m good with the ladies.”

 

Mac’s eyes lighten up. “Yeah, dude! Go for it!”

 

Dennis walks to the chick and taps her shoulder lightly. When she turns, he can see she is a pretty, young brunette with beautiful red lips. And her boobs are _big_. He tries to smile as seductively as he can.

 

“Hey! Are you… looking for someone?” he asks, tentatively.

 

She furrows her brow slightly, but answers anyway. “Yeah, I’m coming here to see my mother tonight. If you’ll excuse me,” she says, turns his back to Dennis and begins to walk to the table again.

 

“Wait!” Dennis stops her again, his hand on her shoulder once again. This time, she turns back to him with angry eyes that stare right into his. “Can’t you see your mom is already having dinner with someone else?” he says, holding her gaze.

 

The young woman looks back at the table and notices a second woman sitting next to her mother. They are both talking and eating their dinner together. The woman’s confused face looks back to Dennis looking for an answer.

 

“You see, your mom was here waiting for you, of course. But then she met this woman,” He explains, “Who was here also waiting for someone else, and they… connected somehow.”

 

Her facial expression is only becoming more and more confused.

 

“You know how it is,” Dennis adds.

 

“No, I don’t,” she answers, “Who is this woman? And who are you? Why are you telling me this?”

 

“I, uh…” Dennis begins to explain, creating the whole situation in his head from scratch. “She is my mother… in-law. Yeah, she’s my mother-in-law.”

 

“Oh! So is that your husband?” she asks, pointing behind him. He turns his head and he sees Mac waving at them with a smile on his face. Dennis rolls his eyes.

 

“Y-yeah, that’s my… husband...” He concedes, reluctantly. “We brought her here on a date with someone else, but she never arrived. Thankfully, she found your mother! And let me tell you, she hasn’t been this happy since her husband’s death,” he finishes, a convincing little smile on his face.

 

The woman looks at the table with a sad expression. “They do seem to be having a good time together,” she mutters.

 

“And you wouldn’t want to ruin that, would you?” Dennis asks. He puts his hand on the woman’s back and directs her away from the table. “I’m sure you will have plenty of time to talk to her afterwards.”

 

“Right,” she says. “I... guess it’s my fault for being late again. Thank you for telling me. You didn’t have to, but you did.” Her eyes have lost the strength they had minutes ago. For a moments she lets Dennis direct her further from the table, but suddenly her eyes focus on something to her right. “I think you should go back to your table. You husband seems to be trying to tell you something,” she says.

 

Dennis looks back at his table and sees Mac making weird hand gestures at him. Shaking his head, he goes back to sit down on his chair. The woman he was talking to is already gone.

 

“Very subtle, Mac” he says. “Thankfully, I managed to solve this situation myself, and that chick won’t be a bother anymore.” Dennis starts eating his salad, raising an eyebrow when he sees Mac reluctantly looking at his meal. A little smile appears on his face when Mac begins to eat it, in spite of his disgust.

 

“Anyway,” says Mac, “Were you going to tell me something before?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I was, actually” Dennis concedes, dropping his fork on the table. He takes a deep breath before he continues. “The reason I came back to Philly was… Well, you know we’ve been living together for years. And it was, uh, weird not to be living with you anymore.” At this, Mac makes a surprised face and almost jumps off his chair. “Now, don’t get me wrong here, Mac. I’m not saying I _missed_ you.” Even though he is denying the words, it still feels wrong to _utter_ them. “I’m just saying it felt different. I would’ve probably felt the same if I had been living with, I don’t know, a chimpanzee. And I thought, hey, even if I really hate this guy, which, trust me, I do, I’d rather live with him again, you know. So, yeah,” he finishes, and then his hand goes straight to his glass of wine and he swallows the whole thing at once. When he’s done, he pours himself more wine.

 

Mac’s hands are covering his mouth for a second. “Oh, Dennis! That’s so sweet of you!” he says, a big smile on his face. “You fell in love with me?!”

 

Dennis’ eyes are suddenly wide open, and he holds his hands in front of him in a defensive stance. “What? No! How did you get that from what I said?” he screams, his face getting red from anger. “I literally said I _hate_ you!”

 

“I know you don’t really mean that, Dennis!” Mac replies, the smile never abandoning his face.

 

“But I _do_ mean it, you _IDIOT_!” he screams, banging his fists on the table and throwing the glass of wine all over his pants in the process. “Fuck! SHIT!”

 

His face is fully red now, the vein on his forehead pulsating with fury. He stands up and looks at the huge wine stain on his crotch and thighs. Upon the sight, his hands move to his belt and he unbuckles it. Before he has the time to unbutton his pants as well, Mac manages to push him into the bathroom in front of the shocked eyes of the nearest clients.

 

“Relax, dude! It’s just some wine,” Mac says, trying to calm Dennis down. “I’m sure the stain will go away when you wash them.”

 

“These are VERY EXPENSIVE pants, Mac,” Dennis replies, his face getting near to the red liquid on his clothes. “And they are fucking ruined now thanks to _you_!”

 

Dennis finishes removing his pants and throws them in the sink. He stares at his reflection in the mirror. He is sweaty and red, his hair is disheveled. This isn’t what an attractive man looks like. This isn’t the image of the five-star man that he is. He wants to pull his hand into a fist and punch his face in the mirror, but he doesn’t do it. He tries really hard not to do it, thinking of all the blood and stains that would be there as a result. Suddenly he feels a hand on his back, and Mac’s face appears next to him on the reflection he’s looking at. He turns slowly to look at him directly, his back now standing against the sink.

 

Mac hesitates. Dennis is looking at him but saying nothing, the noises of the busy restaurant being the only sounds that they can hear. He doesn’t know what Dennis plans to do next. Is he going to hit him? Leave the restaurant in his underwear? Make a few calls and go back to North Dakota? His eyes are, to Mac, completely blank. Mac is a bit scared, but this is Dennis. He knows him. In spite of months of separation, this is still Dennis.

 

He doesn’t think when he moves forward. Like many times before, he moves almost unconsciously as if entranced by Dennis. But this time, Dennis doesn’t back off quickly.

 

With Mac’s hand now resting right next to his, Dennis waits with his eyes open until Mac’s lips touch his. The moment ends as quickly as it began when Dennis, feeling Mac’s thumb caress his little finger, pushes him away with his hands on Mac’s shoulders. Mac’s eyes and mouth are left open. Now it’s him who’s waiting for something to happen. Aggressively, Dennis holds Mac’s face with his hand and kisses him. It takes Mac a moment to react, but soon he gives in to the kiss, his eyes closing. Dennis moves to sit down next to the sink, spreading his legs so that Mac can be closer to him. Mac’s hand immediately moves to caress his thigh. When it reaches Dennis’ crotch, it elicits a moan from him, their kiss open-mouthed for a brief moment.

 

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opens and a woman enters. It’s the same woman Dennis had convinced not to go to her mother’s table, but he’s too busy to notice. She has a tissue in her hand with black stains, presumably from the smeared makeup around her eyes. As soon as she notices Mac and Dennis, she stops in her tracks. “I-I’m sorry… This is… the wrong door” she manages to utter, and then runs out of the bathroom again.

 

Dennis’ mouth is soon on Mac’s again, but Mac is not all over him again. “Fuck…” he murmurs, staring at the closed door.

 

“C’mon, Mac, what are you doing?” Dennis asks, irritated, as he tugs at Mac’s hands to keep them moving.

 

“Wait, Dennis! Why did we come here in the first place?” Mac asks, looking back at him.

 

Dennis looks down for a second, trying to concentrate. “To… have dinner?”

 

Mac shakes his head. “No, dude. To keep an eye on my mom’s date!” He shrugs off Dennis’ grip and walks to the door. He looks back and Dennis hasn’t moved an inch, and is looking at him expectantly. “C’mon, Dennis, let’s check on her! I’m sure she’s doing okay!” Mac insists, tilting his head.

 

Dennis doesn’t want to leave the bathroom just yet, but when he sees Mac go through the door, he figures at least he’s better company than just his wine-stained pants.

 

When Mac finally spots the table he’d left his mom at, the sight he sees there is one to behold. His mom is standing up, confronting the woman who was supposed to be her date. They are both insulting each other, and the young woman is there too, still crying.

 

“Hey, hey, what’s going on here?” Mac asks as he jumps in front of his mom’s date, his arms open.

 

“This bitch was talking shit about Luther!” Mrs. Mac replies, her tone as angry as it could be.

 

“Wow, wait, she knows Dad?” Mac turns to the other woman, an eyebrow raised.

 

“My ex-husband was in prison, too, but at least he was no rat like yours!”

  
As Mac’s brow furrows and his mouth opens, surely to defend the same father who despises him, Dennis lifts one hand to his forehead and wonders how the _fuck_ he’s going to make this mess work.


End file.
